Rich in History

Published: 02/04/2014

While
traveling through Niagara USA, visitors will encounter countless historic
sites, museums and parks that played key roles in the formation of the United
States as we know it today. From Native American settlements in Niagara USA, to
the discovery of the region and its towns; the region's importance in three
wars, to the construction of the Erie Canal, Niagara USA is steeped in history,
with fascinating stories to be told.

The
Settlement

Niagara
County was settled by Westerners six years after the settlement of Jamestown,
Virginia, and five years before the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth Rock. A man
named Etienne Brule came to the Niagara region in 1615 to gain the aid of
Seneca Indians against the Iroquois. At that time, the Seneca Indians were the
protectors of the Niagara land and the waterway rights of the Niagara River,
Lake Erie and Ontario. Niagara County was officially chartered in 1808.

The
Discovery

Father
Louis Hennepin is credited for being the first Westerner to discover Niagara
Falls-but by accident. Father Hennepin was accompanying French Explorer Sieur
LaSalle when they landed in Lewiston on December 6, 1687. Their discovery was a
good one, but they were way off track-they were searching for the Mississippi
River. Father Hennepin wrote about his discovery upon his return to Europe.

The
Wars

Niagara
USA played a key role in three American wars. Old Fort Niagara was a major
center of operations during the French and Indian War, when the Fort served as
a base for raids by Native American Warriors and French partisans against the
British. The British reclaimed Fort Niagara in 1759. During the American
Revolution, the Fort was a haven for British loyalists who opposed the
revolution. When the War of 1812 began, U.S troops at Fort Niagara attacked
British troops in Canada. The British captured the Fort in December 1813, only
to see it returned to the U.S. after the war.

The Erie Canal

Niagara
County plays an important role in the success and development of the Erie
Canal. During the construction of the Canal, architects discovered a sixty foot
drop in Lockport. Lockport native, Nathan Roberts, devised a solution-the
locks-which were necessary so that boats could continue their passage en route
to Buffalo. Construction began by hand in 1823, with the assistance of a man named
Orange Dibble, who invented a horse operated crane to accelerate construction
of the locks. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened, and New York Governor DeWitt Clinton
and the Marquis de Lafayette boarded the Seneca
Chief vessel that ceremoniously passed through
the locks. Lockport is now home to the Flight of Five, the only set of double
locks on the Erie
Canal. Navigate this historic marvel on a two hour cruise with Lockport Locks
& Erie Canal Cruises.

The
Underground Railroad

During
the 1800s, hundreds of heroic men and women of the Niagara region worked with
Harriet Tubman to assist slaves escaping to freedom in Canada. Dozens of
churches, homes, farmhouses and other dwellings in Niagara County were used as
hiding places in the Underground Railroad movement. Many of these sites still
stand today.

The
Visitors

Niagara USA has always been a destination for the many notable visitors-including
Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, the Marquis de Lafayette, Shirley Temple
Black, Marilyn Monroe, King George V and Princess Diana. Many U.S.
Presidents have also visited the Falls. President Martin Van Buren visited
Lockport in 1839, and President McKinley visited Lewiston just before
traveling to the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, where he was
assassinated. President Kennedy also visited Lockport in 1960 while
campaigning for the presidency.

Visitors
interested in more information should contact the Niagara Tourism and
Convention Corporation at 1-877-FALLS-US or via the Internet at
www.niagara-usa.com to request a free Visitor Guide or brochures about
individual attractions.

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The
mission of the Niagara Tourism &
Convention Corporation (NTCC) is to expand the economic prosperity of the
Niagara USA communities by generating individual and group visitation.